


Interlude #2

by DayenuRose



Series: Snapshots or Dick/Babs Week 2018 [5]
Category: Batgirl (Comics), Nightwing (Comics)
Genre: Dick/Babs week 2018, F/M, Fancy Dress Party, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gordon-Grayson children, Interlude, Memories, Storytelling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-09-22 20:15:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17066372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DayenuRose/pseuds/DayenuRose
Summary: While Dick prepares for a fancy dress party, his daughter is full of questions (and comments about his outfit). To answer her questions about why this evening is special, he prepares to tell her a story...





	Interlude #2

“Daddy! Daddy! Da-deeeeeeeee!” Mary’s voice echoed down the family corridors of Wayne Manor. She raced down the hall in stocking feet and slid across the hardwood floors. Her call continued as she passed the bedroom that Dick and Babs shared whenever they spent the night at the Manor. 

Though today, Dick was the only one there and he wasn’t planning on spending the night. No, he and Babs had big plans for the evening. With a sudden twinge of superstition, he knocked on the dresser. It wasn’t that he was particularly superstitious, but it didn’t hurt to cover your bases, especially in Gotham. And especially when you wanted things to turn out well. 

“Not so loud, you’re brothers are napping. _Should be_ napping.” Dick reminded his daughter as the call of ‘Daddy’ started again. If he knew his twins—and he did since he was the one who stayed home with the kids most days—the status of both boys being asleep at the same time was about as likely as Tim getting any sleep during a case. At least they were still pretty good at ‘resting’ until it was time to get up. In the meantime, Dick stared at his reflection as he attempted to tie the cravat for the fourth time. Somehow between the reversed image staring back at him and the lack of practice, all he seemed able to manage was a haphazard knot instead of the required precise loops and folds. 

“AJ’s still asleep, but Brucie is already awake. Grandpa Alfie says he can’t get up yet cause it’s still quiet time,” Mary reported as she made her way back to the bedroom. She held a book in her hand with a finger stuck between the pages to mark her spot.

Dick checked the clock on the nightstand and figured the boys had been down for about forty-five minutes. “That’s right, it’s still quiet time. Which is why we should be quiet too.” 

It was no use. He couldn’t get the darn thing straight. He’d need to ask Alfred for help tying the cravat. Tonight needed to be perfect. “And now, I’m wondering why you were racing down the halls with such urgency.” 

“Grandpa Alfie said....” Mary paused and cocked her head to the side as she studied her daddy dressed in the height of Regency fashion. After a moment, she declared with all seriousness, “You look funny.” 

“Oh no. Whatever shall I do? My own daughter thinks I look funny.” He pressed the back of his hand to his forehead in full melodrama and staggered backwards. When the back of his legs touched the bed, he flopped on the bed like a marionette with cut strings. Splayed across the duvet he controlled his breathing and remained motionless. 

Unable to resist the temptation, Mary approached the bed and poked Dick in the ribs. He didn’t move, though he did allow a small smile to play at the corner of his lips. Long ago he’d learned to ‘play dead’ and could fool the best of their rogues, but he didn’t want to actually traumatise his daughter with the game. 

“Daddy, wake up.” She poked him again. This time the poke turned into an attempt at tickling. Her small fingers flittered across the sensitive spots on his side. 

He opened his eyes and grinned so suddenly that she half-shrieked, half-laughed in surprise. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he tossed her on the bed and tickled her in return. She giggled and squirmed. After a moment, she caught his wrists and he allowed her hold to stop him. 

“So, I look funny. Why’s that?” Dick sat on the edge of the bed beside Mary. He found a hairbrush and started to brush out his daughter’s dark curls. 

Mary flipped through her book looking for the spot where she’d left off. She’d dropped the book during their tickle fight. While she searched, she considered her answer. Dick smiled; she was so much like her mother in this aspect of her personality. 

“Well, you look funny _and_ handsome,” she decided at last. And she possibly had a point. This wasn’t his normal wear and though she was used to seeing him as both ‘Daddy’ and ‘Nightwing,’ Regency gentleman was quite a way off from his usual wear.

But, she wasn’t finished. “I think Mum will say you look handsome. Cause, you look like the pictures on the covers of those books she’s been reading lately. You know, _Pride and Prejudice_ and _Persuasion_ and the others.” 

“Why thank you, mi’lady. That’s exactly the look I was going for.” Dick wrapped Mary in a hug. With the help of Alfred’s precise eye, he’d managed to gather the perfect ensemble. 

After a moment, Mary squirmed out of the embrace and stretched out on the bed. She pretended to read her book before returning to the subject that had sent her sliding down the halls. “Why are we at Grandpa Bruce’s?”

“Because Uncle Damian and Auntie Cass agreed to watch the three of you tonight while the rest of us attend the gala. Since your mum and I plan to be out late, we all thought you’d enjoy spending the night at Grandpa’s.” Dick watched his daughter’s reflection in the mirror as he tried tying the cravat again. 

She screwed up her face as she reconsidered her question. “I get that. I mean. Why are you still here? Why isn’t Mum here with you?”

“Ah, well, that is a different question entirely. I’m here in order to get ready for the gala tonight. It’s a Regency themed fancy dress party. We’re supporting libraries and literacy programs throughout the city. Your mum’s worked hard on organising this one.”  

“But, normally you just get ready at home.” 

“Besides needing your Grandpa Alfred’s help with this—” Dick flicked the ends of the neckwear that was more scarf than cravat at the moment. “I want to surprise Mum tonight and she wants to surprise me. Tonight has special meaning for us.”

“Oh?” Mary sat up in anticipation. When her daddy got like this, it was usually good for a story. It was one of the benefits of having superheroes for parents. And the stories of Dick and Babs growing up were always exciting—even the ones when they weren’t in costume. 

“Tonight is sort of an anniversary for me and your mum.” He smiled at the memory and started to hum. 

“No,” she declared as she paused to work out the calendar. “It’s not your anniversary yet.” 

“Ah, you need to listen more carefully to what I said. I didn’t say it was our wedding anniversary, I said it was _an_ anniversary.” Dick picked up the silk top hat Alfred had left on the dresser for him. He placed the hat on his head and wondered if he looked as ridiculous as he felt.  

Mary giggled. When Dick turned a mock severe glare onto his eldest child, she stifled her laugh. Though her grin refused to fade. “I like your hat, Daddy.”

“Then you can wear it.” He placed it on her head. It covered her eyes and came to rest at her nose. 

“I think it’s too big.” She pushed the hat back so it sat at a rakish angle. “What makes tonight special?” 

Dick picked up a framed picture from the dresser. It showed him and Babs on the roof of her former apartment. She was wearing one of his Haly’s Circus hoodies over an ankle length dress. Though no one could tell from the picture, he remembered fondly the empire waist gown she’d chosen for that evening’s festivities. It was a shame that no one else had seen her. Beside her, he was wearing her Cub’s hoodie and a pair of borrowed sweatpants. But their mismatched outfits hadn’t mattered that night. They smiled at the camera as it captured that perfect moment of time. 

He handed Mary the picture. She’d certainly seen it before, but had never heard the story behind it. “That was taken on a night very much like this one. It was another Regency fancy dress party, though this was long before you were born and even before your mum and I were married. We had big plans for the evening, and like it always seems to happen around here, our plans didn’t quite turn out as expected...” 

 


End file.
